


Together

by tetskuroo



Series: Haikyuu!! Soulmates [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Getting to Know Each Other, Multi, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:00:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24246910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tetskuroo/pseuds/tetskuroo
Summary: Akaashi and Tsukishima get to know each other better, but things don't go as planned.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Series: Haikyuu!! Soulmates [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736380
Comments: 12
Kudos: 272





	Together

**Author's Note:**

> Please go read the first part of the series (Puzzle Pieces) first if you haven't already, this story is a continuation of that and won't make any sense without reading that first. I hope you all enjoy :) 
> 
> also sorry for any headcannons here that people don't agree with

As promised Keiji kept quiet about what he found out.

It wasn't necessarily hard - Koutarou and Tetsurou had always been very respectful of each other's privacy, and Keiji was included in that. They didn't grow jealous when Keiji would get a message and tune out of the conversation briefly to reply to it, and they'd never felt inclined to go through each other's phones. Sometimes they would hand their phones to each other to share memes, or ask the other to send a message for them if they were busy, but they never went through each other's belongings - they didn't see a point. 

So, when Tetsurou had finally grown curious enough to ask who Keiji was texting, and Keiji replied that he was talking to the Karasuno first year, that was that. The two third years were proud of their boyfriend for making a friend, and expressed that pride to him, and then they moved on; no unnecessary questions, no pushing to find out what they could be talking about, no trying to read his messages over his shoulder. 

The messages were always only friendly ones, the two boys getting to know each other, so it wouldn't really matter if his boyfriends _had_ read them. Kei and Keiji had agreed to keep the 'S' word (soulmate) out of the messages for extra privacy just in case, and they instead just got to know each other as normal friends would. They talked about their days, how class and practice had gone, and though neither of them were keen on talking in real life it was nice to get to know each other. Keiji felt complete when he would receive messages from Kei, no matter how few letters the messages contained, and he couldn't wait for his boyfriends to experience the same feeling soon.

*****

It was a week after the training camp ended that Kei was finally starting to feel comfortable with his new friendship he was forming with Keiji. They sent at least a message a piece a day, and the last three days they'd spoken quite a bit. Kei had never been good at making friends, had never really been interested in making friends, and though he wasn't that experienced either Keiji rose to the occasion. He stepped out of his own comfort zone and shared what he usually wouldn't and kept up with the questions, trying to ease whatever awkwardness they had by just being brutally honest.

Keiji was opening up about his life, and though Kei was unsure how to handle all the information Keiji was throwing his way, he figured it was nice to know. Keiji was an only child, raised in a well off household with amazing parents. They were in love and happy together even though they weren't soulmates, and that is where a lot of Keiji's doubt of soulmates stemmed from; if his parents could be so happy together without finding the people they were 'destined' to be with, then what was the point? 

His favorite food was nanohana no Karashiae, his parents had him attend piano lessons every week until he was 12, and he had terrible eyesight. "I prefer contacts at school and during volleyball, but as soon as I can take them out I do," he'd texted Kei, and the blonde was happy he wasn't the only blind one in the group. 

Kei learned that Keiji was on the route to be number 4 academic wise in his class and he hoped to go into a medical field when he was older, though he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to major in yet. 

And though Kei knew all of this about Keiji, he'd failed to reciprocate nearly any information. He'd told his senpai about how he had an older brother, how he was also higher up on the academic list for his class, and how he would do _anything_ for a slice of strawberry shortcake, especially the one his grandmother used to make, but none of that really gave Keiji any insight on his third soulmate. 

"Tell me about your brother," Keiji said, and Kei stopped all he was doing to repeat the words he had just heard over the receiver of his phone. 

It was two weeks now after the training camp, and Kei wasn't as anxious anymore at the fact that he and Keiji were talking to each other. He had told Tadashi that they were getting to know each other - information that made the brunette literally screech - but other than that he hadn't said or done anything to indicate he was moving past his doubts. They'd talked on the phone the night before, and though it was something Kei had never experienced he found he liked it better than texting - more information could be communicated faster and he didn't have to stare at his phone screen all night. 

"Why?" Kie's tone of voice was normal - flat and uninterested, and he was happy that weren't talking in person so Keiji couldn't tell how visibly nervous he got at the topic. 

"Because I don't know much about you, is that a bad place to start?" And Keiji may seem like the innocent, nice one of the four of them, but that was just on the surface. Kei was learning that the second year was just as good as his elder boyfriends at provoking people, and that was something Kei needed to look out for. 

The younger leaned back in his desk chair, letting his eyes drift to the ceiling. "Yeah, ask something else." 

Keiji chuckled, something soft and sweet, and Kei could feel the anxiety seeping out of his body at the sound - at least his soulmate wasn't upset with him being a recluse. "Fine, just tell me about you then. Any hobbies aside from volleyball? Any weird talents? Guilty pleasures?" 

Kei decided to share, because Keiji was working hard, being patient for the blonde to open up, to share _any_ information at all, and sharing a couple facts about himself wouldn't kill him, right? So he told Keiji about how he had a slight obsession with dinosaurs as a kid, and he'd gained a lot of information about them in all the years he was obsessed with them. It wasn't super impressive, but he could name all kinds of dinosaurs and what they looked like, how tall they were and what they liked to eat. 

He also shared how he knew a lot of music - like a ton. Tadashi had once referred to Kei as a human jukebox, the latter being able to identify most songs saved to his spotify only a couple seconds into them, and he had multiple songs in different languages saved too. He'd always loved music more than most other things in the world, and if it were up to him he would make it that he could listen to music all the time - in class and during practice included.

Keiji noticed this seemed like a true passion for the younger male, and continued to ask more questions so he would keep sharing. Kei didn't have a type of music he didn't like, but one of his favorites was rock. When Keiji said that was too broad Kei specified that all of the sub-genres of rock were too good to choose between but he had discovered a new British rock band lately that he just couldn't stop listening to. 

"What's your favorite song from the band?" 

Coming from Keiji that was a big deal; the second year had admitted that he wasn't much of a music listener. Yeah he could play piano very well, and every time Koutarou or Tetsurou suggested a song he would give it a listen, but he wasn't big on listening to music himself. 

"Hmm," Kei had to think hard - the band had two full albums and a four song EP, choosing one favorite was going to be hard. "Right now it would probably be _Amsterdam_ ," he finally decided. 

"I'll have to give it a listen." 

Kei blushed, a little surprised by the notion, "y-yeah, if you want to. Don't feel obligated to though, rock isn't for everyone." 

Keiji chuckled again, and Kei could feel his blush get worse. "I've finally got you to open up, the least I could in return is listen to your favorite song." Kei was quiet, quiet enough to hear a knock on Keiji's bedroom door through the phone. "It's dinner time - I'll talk to you tomorrow?" 

"Yeah, tomorrow." 

"Good. Sleep well, Kei." And then the call was over and Kei was left staring at his ceiling again, trying to comprehend why in the hell Keiji could always get his heart to race like that. 

***** 

Days passed the same and Kei found himself growing more and more comfortable with Keiji. The latter was good at knowing when to push and when not to, so he had managed to wriggle quite a bit of information out of the younger male. All of the information was only scraping the top layer, favorite colors and places he would like to live, but that was still impressive when it came to Kei. Kei was getting less and less nervous talking about how his life had been, and why he is the way he is, and it was thrilling in a way to let himself get closer to somebody other than Tadashi.

But the warm, fuzzy feelings couldn't last forever, and Kei was an idiot for thinking it would. 

"I listened a little more to that band you like," Keiji admitted one night. It was Saturday night, which Keiji usually spent at one of his boyfriend's houses, but they had third year business to attend to the next day so Keiji had to stay home. He didn't mind, though - more time to talk to Kei. 

The words made Kei's heart flutter - nobody had ever wanted to listen to him talk about music, let alone listen to the music he was talking about. Tadashi would listen along to whatever Kei was enjoying at the time, but he was more interested in pop or rap music, and Kei didn't have many recommendations in that genre. So for Keiji - who doesn't listen to music normally anyways - to go out of his way and listen to the band that Kei had been obsessed with lately it made him feel light, and maybe a little queasy. "Oh yeah?"

Keiji hummed an affirmative but decided to speak - Kei wasn't likely to. "They're pretty good, and I think I have a favorite song by them." 

That shocked Kei even more, and though he was unbelievably flattered the queasy feeling in his stomach started to grow. "Which one?" 

"Take This Lonely Heart." 

Why? Why did it have to be _that_ song - the song Kei wanted to share with Keiji at first, the song he wanted to admit he related to. And why, _why_ couldn't he just be happy that somebody was enjoying what he enjoyed? It made him happy to share, right? So why did his body immediately tell him to run, to flee the situation, to close back up and never let anyone in again. "Yeah that's an okay one," Kei said shakily, trying to calm himself. _Don't ruin it,_ he thought to himself, _don't ruin everything you've been working so hard for._

"Just okay? I figured you would really like it." Keiji seemed like he was teasing, like he didn't realize just how fucked Kei was, how far gone the first year let himself become in only a month. 

Kei rolled with it though, ready to steel himself up and push Keiji away; he was too anxious to think about his actions, only focused on feeling in control of his emotions again. "Why is that?" Keiji stopped laughing at the tone of Kei's voice, realization dawning on him - he hit a little too close to home here. "I'm not talking to you to fill a void in my life, Akaashi-San. I figured you realized that I wanted to get to know you before I just threw my heart at you and asked you and the other two to take care of it." 

Keiji wanted to push - wanted to say that Kei was never going to get anywhere if he didn't even let his other two soulmates know he exists, but he realized now wasn't the time. He'd obviously pushed the wrong button, climbed the wrong tree, and now everything felt like it was hanging on the edge. Keiji could tip it over once and for all, or try to save it. He chose the latter. "I'm sorry Kei, I didn't realize how that would have effected you."

"It's fine." Was the quick reply, and Keiji could tell it wasn't. He immediately regretted bringing it up, he should have just said Amsterdam had been his favorite as well, shouldn't have tried to pry when he knew they were still dancing on thin ice. _Tetsurou would have done much better in this situation,_ Keiji couldn't help but think. "I'm gonna let you go Akaashi-San, I'm growing quite tired." 

"I'll talk to you tomorrow?" It sounded more like a plead this time but Keiji wasn't ashamed - he was desperate to know that he hadn't fucked everything up. 

"Yeah, tomorrow." 

*****

They barely talked tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that.

Keiji would message first, as he had most of the month they spoke before, but Kei barely replied, sending only a few words in each text, and sometimes he just didn't reply at all. Keiji decided to stop pushing too hard, not wanting to completely milk the relationship dry of any hope of them fixing what had happened. He sent good morning texts and good night texts, and sometimes pictures or memes in-between if they made him think of the blonde, but he didn't ask questions, didn't share information about himself, and that went on for days. 

The second year felt extremely guilty for it, for being the one holding their perfect relationship in his hands and practically throwing it away. He knew it wasn't an excuse but he had just been so curious - he thought he was getting somewhere with Kei and it felt good and he wanted to get further with him, wanted to make the blonde comfortable enough to admit who he was to the others, to consider being with them one day. It looked unlikely now. 

Koutarou and Tetsurou seemed to notice the lack of energy in their already very laid back boyfriend, but after Keiji said he was just stressed over a project for his class they backed off a bit. Even if they didn't believe him they knew that when Keiji needed their help he would ask for it, so they trusted in that and tried to be more calm around him for everyone's sanity. 

After two weeks of almost no communication with the blonde it was starting to wear him thin. He had messed up quite a bit at practice that day - his mind conjuring up three more ways he could have handle the situation, which brought the total up to thirty-four better ways he could have handled what had happened - and Koutarou was growing extremely worried. 

"Akaash-"

"I'm fine, Bokuto-San." 

Koutarou could tell that Keiji was lying, because he only reverted back to calling him 'Bokuto-San' when he was extremely stressed and distracted or when they were at training camp to not draw attention to their relationship. "Okay," he mumbled, obviously not convinced but dropping the situation. 

It wasn't until later when they were together at Keiji's house with Tetsurou that it was brought up again, and Keiji knew he wasn't going to escape as easily. Tetsu had brought his smaller boyfriend into his lap, arms curling around him while Koutarou sat beside them, his fingers of his right hand anxiously picking at the skin around his fingers on his left hand. That's how Keiji knew he needed to speak a little, even if just to calm the other two down. 

"We don't want to push you, Keiji," Tetsurou said quietly, giving his boyfriends both soft smiles. "We just want to make sure you're okay, because it's obvious you're not feeling well, and I don't think you've been sleeping well by the looks of your eye bags." 

Keiji turned to straddle Tetsurou's legs, now facing his raven haired boyfriend. He turned to Koutarou and grabbed his hands, hoping to make them both feel a little more at ease. "I've just been feeling pretty stressed, and I'm not sure why." No matter how upset he was at himself, no matter how annoyed he was with Kei, he had promised he wouldn't tell so he wasn't going to. "Thoughts of you guys graduating and leaving have been occupying my brain a lot, and I really haven't been able to sleep." And that wasn't a lie - on top of him fucking up with Kei the other two were about to go to college and leave Keiji in the dust, alone as he had been before, and the thought was terrifying. "With schoolwork too, and preparing for all of our games it's just been a lot - I'm sorry to have worried you both." 

Tetsurou pulled Keiji into a hug, and then Koutarou was wrapping his arms around both of his boyfriends. They sat like that for a while, silently holding onto each other like their lives depended on it, and Keiji had to fight back the tears.

"We're sorry you're feeling that way, Keiji," Koutarou said quietly. "But I promise, we're gonna be able to spend just as much time together once Tetsu and I are in college." 

"After the first couple months we might even get more time together. It'll be tough, with you handling graduation things and us adjusting to our new lives, but nothing is going to change. Just as many movie nights, dinners - even volleyball practice if you still wanna play with us." 

Koutarou was nodding his agreement to Tetsurou's statements, tears forming in his own eyes. "I don't want anyone else to set for me, Keiji."

It felt good, to be hugged and loved when he felt like he had ruined everything. There words were reassuring, but would they be upset with him too, if they knew what he had done? If they knew that he was working so hard for them to have a happy relationship, only for it all to be thrown out the door when he got impatient? 

He couldn't take the thoughts anymore so he pulled himself back enough from the hug to kiss Tetsurou, a passionate kiss. 

"Ohoho, Akaashi," Koutarou breathed out, wiggling his eyebrows. 

They two dark haired males pulled out of the kiss and Tetsurou was grinning smugly, a flush in his cheeks already. "If you wanted a distraction, Keiji, all you had to do was ask." 

*****

"Tsukki, why aren't you talking to Akaashi-San as much anymore?" 

Kei stalled in his movements. He and Tadashi were walking together to Kei's house after practice because his mother got a promotion at work and was making cake to celebrate, and Kei knew that she loved having Tadashi over on nights like tonight. It made the house feel more like a family home, with two growing boys wanting to eat an entire cake after working hard at school and volleyball practice all day. 

He knew the question was coming - it had been two weeks since Kei had started pushing Keiji away in order to feel some sort of control over his life again, and though he felt as suffocated as he had before, marks covered and nobody to talk to about it, he did feel more in control. He knew in a few weeks he would be happy he stopped letting himself fall victim to the marks on his body, and for now he just had to suffer the consequences of letting himself start to open up. He needed to feel lonely, to lie awake at night at let the 'what if's' eat away at him, but it would be over soon and he would be content in his loneliness again. 

He must have taken too long to respond because Tadashi was speaking again, and he sounded too serious for Kei's liking. "You know, you're awfully selfish Kei." And he'd heard it before, out of the mouths of people that didn't know him, out of the mouths of people who didn't know what he had been through in his life, and he always found it easy to ignore them. They didn't know that he helped his mother with everything she did, that he had helped take care of his grandmother as she was passing away, that he kept his heart hidden away so nobody could ever hurt him. Hearing Tadashi call him selfish, though - that hurt. 

"You don't understan-"

"But I do, Kei!" That's how you could tell Tadashi was serious - the childhood nickname was dropped for his first name, something only his family called him, and Keiji on occasion. And that thought sends a small pang to Kei's heart. "I've been by your side since we were kids, I know just about everything in your life and you know just about everything in mine. I know you're scared, but if you never try then you're never going to know what could have been! You will regret it all your life!" 

Kei thinks of his mom, alone her entire life because she'd never wanted to be with anyone after Kei's father left her as he had. She always swore with a smile on her face that her soulmate would come one day, even if she was old and grey, and they'd sweep her off her feet or push her in her wheelchair and everything would be okay. 

"Stop thinking about her," Tadashi countered, and Kei looked up from the ground to meet his best friend's eyes. "You know good and well your mother would be ecstatic if you told her you met them - hell she would drive you up to Tokyo herself so you could see them." Kei couldn't help the small upturn of his lips at that, because his best friend was right. She never got her happy ending but that never stopped her from hoping Kei would get his. She would be his biggest fan and support, even if he decided he only wanted to be friends with them all. "You gotta stop thinking about the bad so much, Kei - just because bad things have happened before doesn't mean they're always going to happen." 

Kei rolled his eyes - why was Tadashi fighting so hard for a relationship that he wasn't a part of? "They're not going to be happy when they know I don't want to be romantic immediately, or maybe even ever." 

Tadashi shrugged, "but they would know you're alive, and they'd know you're well. They could still be apart of your life. Even if they're disappointed they can't force you to be apart of their relationship. Even if they tried to pressure you - and I'm sure they wouldn't because they seem like genuinely good people - you could just stop talking to them then. Don't ruin the chance you have before you even see how it could end." 

Kei was surprised - it was like the Tokyo camp all over again, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing. When his laughter died down he let his right hand settle onto his best friend's shoulder. "When did you get so cool?" 

Tadashi flushed at that, and they continued their walk to Kei's house in silence.

*****

It took Kei three nights to build up the courage to ask to talk to Keiji on the phone, and the only answer he had received in response was his phone lighting up in a call, Keiji's voice sounding immediately. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Tsukishima." 

Kei, trying to be brave, let out a sigh. "It's fine just - let me talk for a minute without an interruption?" Keiji agreed and Kei took a deep breath, preparing himself. He had been anxious enough to write down a brief summary of what he wanted to say. Even if all else failed and Keiji hated him in the end at least he could get the words out. "I'm sorry for pushing you away. I'm not comfortable with all of this, obviously, but it's not fair of me to get upset with you for trying to get to know me when I'm the one who asked for it in the first place.

"I'm not sure what I want from this, if anything romantic will ever come from it at all, and it makes my never ending fear of soulmates worse to know that I could potentially be rejected because I'm not sure where I want this to go. I want to get to know you guys - I really, really do, but I'm not sure where to start and I'm so scared to try because what if it all backfires?" 

He had more to say, could write a thousand word essay about how much he wanted to change and how unsure he was about how to go about it. He could talk to Keiji all night expressing his fears, but that just wasn't him. Instead, he decided to open up more. "When I was in middle school my brother went to Karasuno."

"Kei, you don't have to share if you're not ready."

_But I want to,_ he thought to himself. He just continued his story, though, going into detail about how on top of everything in his life he doubted he thought he could count on his brother, but he was wrong. He talked about how he felt so betrayed by Akiteru for lying to his brother when it would have been so easy to tell the truth, he expressed his frustrations about his brother trying to act normal after that. He shared how heartbroken he was when Akiteru stopped trying to make it better, when his elder brother moved away and stopped talking to him at all. 

Then he expressed his mixed feelings about how he and Akiteru had started talking again, even started playing together again with Akiteru's neighborhood team and it was fun, but Kei was scared because what if Akiteru was going to betray his trust again? 

Keiji listened to the story with hurt in his heart, but a certain kind of pride swelling up in him - Kei was opening up, even with the shake in his voice that showed he was terrified, and Keiji didn't fuck up immensely. 

After talking about his brother to Keiji Kei talked about his best friend. He shared how Tadashi had been there for him through everything, even when Kei was just a straight up asshole Tadashi never left his side, and the blonde expressed how grateful he was for his best friend. "He is the one that talked me into working harder at volleyball and he knocked some sense into me the other day about this. Somehow he has grown far passed me, and I don't know how I'm going to catch up." Kei was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Don't tell him I said that." It wasn't a threat but it wasn't a really a request either. Tadashi knew how grateful Kei was for him, he'd expressed it before to his friend when it felt like the freckled male was all he had in this world, but Kei didn't need everyone telling Tadashi he was sharing this information - that would just make him seem soft.

"Your secret is safe with me," Keiji promised. 

"Speaking of secrets," Kei mumbled, growing anxious for the real topic at hand. "Would it be possible for me to come see you guys?" Keiji was really surprised at that, and Kei did what Keiji had only heard twice - Kei rambled because he was anxious. "I know that if I tried to admit it over text they would demand to see me anyways, and it would be easier for me to avoid that way. I want to open up about this, but I know I can't commit if I do it like this - in person I'm stuck and I think that is the best way for it to happen." 

"You don't have to rush it, if you don't want. They will respect whatever your decision is, Kei, but you know they're going to be overbearing and I don't want that to make you feel uncomfortable." 

Kei was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, and he let himself think. This was his out - Keiji wasn't forcing him. He could change his mind, decide he wasn't ready, and he could continue to hide. He could keep his marks covered and he could run away from the reality of his life. Or, he could try. He could take the jump off the cliff and hope the water below wasn't full of rocks, hope that the net the universe set up for him was going to catch him. "I want to try," he said quietly.

"You're positive?" 

"Yeah, I'm positive. Just," Kei scrunched up his face, trying to think of how to ask for this favor. "Please try to keep them in line? I know you can't stop them from being crazy completely, and I know they're probably gonna hug me really tight which is fine." A blush grew on his face at the thought of Koutarou picking him up in his big arms, spinning him around out of excitement. "But can you please just try to keep them as in line as possible?" 

Keiji laughed, a beautiful sound that had Kei's heart pounding. "Of course, just let me know when and we can figure it out." 

*****

Two and a half weeks later Kei was on a train to Tokyo and his heart was in his chest. Tadashi was beside him, a steady presence that helped keep him focused, helped him stay more calm than he would have been alone. Kei had told Tadashi about his get together with his soulmates and Tadashi immediately offered to go along. It was a great excuse for him to see Kenma, but he was actually worried about his best friend and wanted to be there in case anything went wrong. 

Kei appreciated the sentiment, and he hoped that Tadashi understood how genuinely he meant it when he thanked his friend for coming. The freckled boy had just replied with a large smile and an 'Of course Tsukki!' and Kei was stuck again wondering what he did in a past life to deserve Tadashi as his best friend.

He'd been texting Keiji the entire ride about which stop to get off on and how Keiji would be waiting for him right out side of the entrance to walk back to his own house with him and it made him feel nauseous to think about what was about to happen. 

"I'll be there immediately if that's what you need, I promise Tsukki." 

"I know it's just - it's scary," he mumbled, quiet enough that Tadashi could barely hear him. "I'm not likable, Tadashi." 

Tadashi smiled at his best friend. "You are once you get under the tough top layers! And even if you're still bad at showing affection it shouldn't matter to them - they were made for you, Tsukki, so they'll know how to take care of you." 

Kei nodded his thanks at his friend and thought about it for the rest of the ride. He watched the way Tadashi smiled at his phone when he received a text from Kenma, and he could feel the excitement radiating off of his friend as they got closer and closer to their stops. Kei wondered if he could ever be like that, so in love with his soulmates that he couldn't wait to see them, leg bouncing with happy anticipation instead of anxiety. He'd always thought that he was too much for people to love, too bitter and rough around the edges, too hard to get through to - there was no room to love him. Keiji and Tadashi seemed sure that everything was going to be okay, that he would have a happy polyamory based relationship with his three soulmates and he would have a happy ending. Deep down he hoped they were right. 

He'd told his mom where he was heading and she had cried and hugged her son for ten minutes, expressing how happy she was for him, how proud she was of him. There was no look of bitterness on her face like Kei had feared - she never got her happy ending but she was so happy that her son was gonna let himself enjoy his. It had made his heart feel light to know that's how she felt about it, and he was hoping that after he was done in Tokyo he could tell his brother what he did and how it went. Maybe it could help them start to build their relationship back up. 

Kei's stop was before Tadashi's, and his friend squeezed his hand before he let the blonde leave, sending him off with two thumbs up and a big smile. Getting off of the train had been a bit of a hassle, the morning rush making the station crowded, but as soon as he made it out of the building he saw Keiji waiting on the closest bench, his eyes on his phone and a smile on his face. He looked up when Kei's body blocked the sun from his eyes, and the blonde rubbed the back of his head nervously. 

Keiji stood and flashed him a small smile before leading the way towards his house. They kept up small talk during their walk, talking about how they had slept the night before and how the ride had been into Tokyo. Keiji shared his favorite sights from the station to his home, statues and different cafes with people sitting outside of them enjoying the sun. They talked about how stupid the other first years had been when asking if a transmission tower was the Tokyo Tower, and Kei was glad to see a small smile on Keiji's face at the banter. 

They made it to Keiji's house after a fifteen minute walk, and he wasn't surprised to see it was a rather big house with a beautiful front yard, and Kei felt out of place. They walked into the entrance and Kei was flustered to find Keiji had gotten him a pair of house slippers. 

"I uhh, figured that you might be coming back, and we could just take them to and from my house and Tetsurou's and Koutarou's so you didn't need three different pairs." Kei was nervous at the thought of having his own pair of slippers anywhere aside from his and Tadashi's houses, but he expressed his thanks and slid them on. Keiji gave Kei a tour of the house, explaining that his parents weren't home because they were on some business trip.

"On a Saturday?" 

"Yeah, they work a lot of weekends. They own their own company, so they get to work whenever they want, but this weekend they had to travel, so it'll just be us here today. And Tetsurou and I plan on making dinner for us all, if all goes well." 

Kei nodded, and the two headed into the living room to sit and talk until the others arrived. They arrived unannounced, knocking on the door loud enough to be mistake for the police, and Keiji left alone to answer it. The third years greeted their boyfriend excitedly, and it only took Tetsurou a few seconds to notice the extra pair of shoes in the doorway. He questioned Keiji about it, and Keiji just told them to follow him to the living room for the explanation. They were surprised to see Kei anxiously pacing backing and forth, only stopping when Koutarou questioned why he was there. 

Keiji waited for Kei to speak, the younger male forgetting everything he'd practiced saying, everything he had thought of on the train ride here. This was it, the moment he officially met his soulmates, and he felt like he was going to vomit. "I- Umm-" he looked down to his feet and then desperately at Keiji. The older male sent the blonde a nod, and Kei sighed before speaking, a little more clearly this time. "My given name is Kei." He said, and then the other two just looked confused. He was growing frustrated with the situation, and Keiji moved to stand next to him, grabbing his left hand for support. It made Kei feel a little stronger, though the knot in his stomach grew tighter - his first time romantically holding someone's hand and he was on the brink of an anxiety attack while it happened. "Tsukishima Kei." He looked down to his feet, eyes clenched tight. "I'm T-"

He was cut off by a body slamming into his, Koutarou hugging him with his strong arms. Another set of arms wrapped around them, and Keiji stood to the side, a small smile on his face at the sight. Koutarou was crying, hot tears soaking into Kei's shirt, and he would hug them back but his arms were pinned to his sides because of their own arms around him. Tetsurou was crying too, his face scrunched up and red, and Kei could feel the anxiety ebbing itself out of his body to be replaced by a weird floating feeling, like he wasn't really apart of the moment, he was watching it from the outside. 

"Can I?" Koutarou asked once they had pulled away, his hands hovering over Kei's wrists. He knew the importance here, knew not to push boundaries but he was so excited. Kei nodded, holding his right wrist out for Koutarou, and the excited man wasted no time in peeling off the bandage around Kei's wrist. Exposed were Koutarou's initials just as they were on Keiji's and Tetsurou's wrists, and the buff man hugged the first year again, and this time Kei was able to wrap his arms around Koutarou in return.

Tetsurou was next to them hugging Keiji, tears still falling down his face. "Keiji you-"

"I found out at the training camp," he admitted, and it felt so good to finally admit it. "He wasn't ready to tell anyone so I promised to keep it a secret." 

Tetsurou had so many questions, but he was just happy that this was happening, that Kei was here with them and they were finally, finally complete. "Thank you, thank you so much Keiji for everything." 

Keiji's eyes started to well up. "You're not mad? I've been keeping this from you, I-"

Tetsurou shook his head pulling back to meet Keiji's eyes. "You found him and you somehow got him here, I couldn't be more thankful for everything you've done for us. I can only imagine how hard it has been on you and I'm so proud." 

Koutarou must have heard their conversation because he was pulling away from Kei - promising to come back - before he was flinging himself onto Keiji and Tetsurou, letting his happy tears fall while he thanked Keiji over and over again. Tetsurou slipped out of the hug and moved over to the blonde, inspecting him carefully. He could tell Kei was anxious by the way he was letting his fingers pick at the bottom of his shirt, and though hugging the younger boy again was all he wanted to do he held himself back. 

"May I see mine?" Kei blushed, his hand coming up to rest over his heart. He hadn't really made eye contact with either of the third years yet, so he finally let his eyes drift up to meet those of Tetsurou's. The black haired male was nervous but he still forced a charming smile onto his face. "Yours is there too." He pulled the top of his black shirt down to expose the _T.K._ over his heart, and Kei felt his heart flutter and his stomach tighten at the sight - he had felt so nauseous he wasn't sure he was going to be able to eat at all today. 

Kei followed suit, grabbing the collar of his own shirt in order to pull it down, exposing the _K.T._ that was etched onto his chest. Tetsurou started crying again, and he clutched his hands into his shirt to hold back the need growing inside of him to hug Kei and never let him go. Kei must have sensed it because he averted his gaze and opened his arms for a hug, and Tetsurou took the invitation, wrapping his arms around Kei's waist and picking him up off the ground to spin him. Koutarou grew excited at the sight and decided to pick Keiji up too, the third years spinning around their younger soulmates. 

Kei was growing queasy and patted Tetsurou to signal him to stop, and when he was set back on the ground he had to close his eyes and focus on not falling over. Tetsurou grew embarrassed and made sure the boy wasn't going to fall over. After all had calmed down Keiji cleared his throat, drawing all of the attention to himself. "I hate to be a party pooper, but I think we need to talk about this before we start jumping to conclusions." 

Tetsurou agreed, and even though Koutarou was visibly nervous they sat on the couches and started to talk. Kei was on one couch with Keiji, Tetsurou and Koutarou on the other, and all eyes were on Kei. He felt himself growing nervous again - the hard part was over, now for the harder part. "I've already talked to Akaashi-San about this," he mumbled, eyes on his hands. Keiji patted his hand carefully onto Kei's back, hoping to give the blonde some sort of confidence to continue. "I'm not comfortable with a relationship yet - I'm not keen on the idea of soulmates, the idea leaves a sick feeling in my stomach and a rotten taste in my mouth. So I would like to start off as friends, and _if_ ," he emphasized the word, hoping for Tetsurou and Koutarou to understand, "something romantic comes later I would love that but for now i just... I want to take it slow please. This is all a lot to take in." 

"So we can just hug you and text you and be your friends?" Koutarou asked.

"Yeah," Kei replied, unsure if the question was meant in a good light or a bad one and the thought that he had done all of this just for it to blow up in his face makes him feel like an idiot. 

Koutarou beamed though, and Tetsurou did too, their arms wrapping around each other's shoulders. "Sounds like a done deal!" Koutarou exclaimed, and Kei could feel the rest of the ice around his heart starting to break at the smile on their faces. 

"As much as we would love for you to be a part of our romantic relationship, it's good to just know who you are and that you're okay - we can cross the bridge of something else when we get there. Until then we will just annoy you everyday in a platonic way." Tetsurou was smiling wide, and Kei was feeling like an idiot for thinking this could ever go bad. He wasn't out of the water yet, anything could still turn bad at any moment, but his soulmates were smiling at him so wide it probably hurt, and he was finally starting to feel secure in Keiji's house. 

"One last thing," Keiji said with a small smile. Kei scrunched his eyebrows up in question, only for the second year to reach over and peel the bandage off of Kei's left wrist. "You don't need these anymore." 

And it was sudden, the urge in him to hug Keiji for all the second year had done for him, so he acted on it. He wrapped his arms around Keiji's neck, and then they were being hugged by the third years, Koutarou expressing how excited he was to finally have all of them together. 

*****

"Is everything okay? Do you need me to come over to ease tension? Or leave? I'm sure Kenma would under-"

"Everything is actually going really well," Kei interrupted. He was standing in the kitchen, watching his three soulmates laugh and joke in the living room, the smell of food spreading around the house. "We can take the latest bus back, if that's okay with you."

Kei could hear his best friend's smile through the phone. "We can leave whenever you are ready to, Tsukki." 

Before Tadashi could hang up Kei stopped him. "Thank you for being so cool, Tadashi." 

The other male laughed, every atom in his body vibrating with pride for his best friend. "Anytime, Kei." 

**Author's Note:**

> This is way out of hand, I'd originally planned for this to be a short one shot and now it's two long ass parts and I am very tempted to make a third part.   
> Sorry if it seems drawn out I just know that the Tsukki in my mind wouldn't agree to all of this without a fight.   
> I hope you all liked it thank you for reading <3


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